Using SAP Returnable Packaging Management

The management of reusable containers is imperative in the automotive industry primarily because it affects efficiency, cost, and sustainability. In this industry, parts and components are usually transported in containers, and when they become empty, failing to manage them effectively can lead to significant financial and spatial inefficiencies.

Poorly managed empty containers can occupy critical space in warehouses or on the shop floor, causing congestion and hampering operations. Therefore, efficient return, reuse, or recycling can help optimize space utilization.

From a cost perspective, each empty container represents an investment. If not returned or reused, it becomes an unnecessary expenditure affecting the company's bottom line. Efficient container management can thus reduce operational costs by minimizing wastage and maximizing resource utilization.

Moreover, container management has a direct link with sustainability which is a growing focus in the automotive industry. Effective management can reduce environmental impact through recycling and reusing containers multiple times, thereby decreasing raw material use and reducing waste.

Overall, effective empty container management plays a critical role in the automotive industry by enhancing operational efficiency, reducing costs, and promoting sustainability.

SAP Returnable Packaging Management supports automotive companies to manage returnable and reusable containers such as pallets, boxes, racks, etc. across the supply chain effectively and efficiently to avoid production delays due to packaging shortages and to avoid high holding costs of container inventory.

Increasing demand for sustainable and reliable supply chains

Rapidly changing demands make forecasting difficult

Delay in delivery due to packaging and transport shortages

High inventory holding costs due to packaging and transport overhang

With SAP Returnable Packaging Management packaging managers get a holistic view on the container stock situation at suppliers as well as customers. They can manage serialized containers on an individual level as well as non-serialized containers on a quantity-based level.

SAP Returnable Packaging Management contains capabilities that are grouped along the following areas:

• Returnable Account Management
• Returnable Packaging Planning
• Returnable Packaging Rentals
• Collaboration using Portal Apps
• Packaging Standards and Agreements

Managing the container stock situation across the supply chain is enabled by packaging accounts which represent the key master data element in SAP Returnable Packaging Management.

Returnable Account Management contains capabilities to manage the container stock at suppliers and customers.

Posting documents are derived from material documents for packaging-material in the SAP S/4HANA or SAP ECC backend and update the account balance of the assigned packaging account at goods receipt and goods issue.

In the automotive industry automotive suppliers typically receive account statements from an OEM. With SAP Returnable Packaging Management, these inbound statements can be created manually, using API-call or through Excel upload.

When an inbound statement has been created, it can be matched automatically. You can do this by using a rule-based logic or using the Business AI capabilities of line-item matching.

The Returnable Process Overview helps packaging managers to get a holistic overview on KPIs and daily operations. The packaging manager can easily navigate to accounts and posting documents that need the packaging manager's attention.

Additional status information can be managed for each serialized container. A status update can be triggered at any time to visualize a status update for an individual container.

The planning capabilities help to plan and optimize the container stock level and trigger the replenishment. SAP Returnable Packaging Management supports different planning scenarios allowing automotive companies to choose the scenario that best fits their requirements.

The Stock Overview provides full transparency on the container stock situation within the plant on a storage location level, as well as the stock situation across the supply chain at a customer and a supplier level based on the Packaging Accounts.

By maintaining a reorder point on the Packaging Account level, the replenishment can be triggered manually or automatically.

With Consumption-based Planning, historic data is leveraged to build a forecast for container consumption powered by Business AI.

With an S/4HANA add-on on the backend, the gross demand for packaging can be calculated based on scheduling agreements and packing instructions. SAP Returnable Packaging Management will then calculate the net-demand and trigger the replenishment.

SAP Returnable Packaging Management supports the calculation of rental periods and rental fees based on the attributes such as daily rent charge, rent free days, delivery charge, and so on, maintained in the Packaging Account.

By providing access to SAP Returnable Packaging Management with a dedicated external user role collaboration is made easy and convenient for internal and external packaging managers.

Allow customers and suppliers to download their account statements.

Let customers and suppliers place orders for empty containers.

Collaborate with customers and suppliers on packaging-related issues.

Let customers and suppliers review posting documents and report quantity mismatches to make account matching seamless and user-friendly.

Perform physical inventory for containers across the entire supply chain.

Provide a short list of upfront agreed packaging materials by defining how goods need to be packed, labeled and stacked to ensure a seamless goods receipt process.

Assign Packaging Standards to productive material and components to create a packaging data sheet and packing instructions in the SAP S/4HANA backend.

SAP Returnable Packaging Management supports the creation of posting documents in multiple ways:

To leverage the automatic posting document creation based on material documents from ERP the automatic delivery items generation for packaging needs to be configured in the backend system. You can find additional support how to configure the generation of delivery items for packaging material on the SAP Help Portal. While the automatic generation of packaging items is most convenient, packaging items can also be added manually.

Posting documents can be created manually by using the Manage Posting Documents app.

Customers are also free to design automation in custom posting logic by implementing the posting document creation through an API-call. You can find the API documentation on the SAP API Hub.